Protesters at the port of Oakland, California, prevent a ship carrying military weapons for Israel from leaving in November 2023. (Photo by XPIX)
Leaders of South Africa, Malaysia and Colombia have reiterated their determination to prevent Israel-bound vessels carrying weapons from using their ports, amid the regime’s ongoing genocide in the Gaza strip.
“We will prevent vessels carrying military supplies to Israel from using our ports; and we will prevent all arms transfers that risk enabling further violations of humanitarian law,” South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim and Colombian President Gustavo Petro wrote in a joint article published by Foreign Policy magazine this week.
They noted that Israel’s war on Gaza has exposed the failure of the international system, calling for an end to impunity for Israel’s violations of international law.
“The choice is stark: Either we act together to enforce international law or we risk its collapse,” the essay read.
The leaders noted that Israel has “systematically” violated international law in Gaza, with the help of world powers that provided it with diplomatic, military, and political support.
This “complicity” has dealt a “devastating” blow to the integrity of the UN Charter and its fundamental principles on human rights, sovereign equality, and the prohibition of genocide, they added.
“A system that permits the killing of an estimated 61,000 people is not merely failing - it has failed.”
Malaysia and Colombia are among the countries that backed South Africa’s genocide case against Israel at the International Court of Justice (ICJ).
South Africa accused Israel of committing genocide in an unprecedented case at the United Nations’ top court in December 2023. It said Tel Aviv was “intent on destroying the Palestinians in Gaza” and called for the court to order a halt to Israel’s genocidal campaign in the Strip.
While a final ruling is pending, the court ruled last year that “there is a plausible risk of genocide in Gaza and the continuing serious harm to civilians since then.”
Trump's plan for Gaza 'ethnic cleansing'
The article also described US President Donald Trump's plan to “take over” Gaza as "ethnic cleansing" and a "flagrant violation of international law."
During the early days of his administration, Trump suggested that the people of Gaza either temporarily or permanently relocate out of the strip, including to Egypt and Jordan.
On February 4, Trump proposed that the US could take over Gaza and turn it into the “Riviera” of West Asia after clearing the Palestinians out, and resettling them elsewhere.
Trump’s remarks sparked widespread condemnations, including from Palestine, the UN and the Arab world, as a potentially fatal blow to the so-called two-state solution.
Trump’s provocative proposal came after the Israeli regime failed to realize its objectives in the war on the coastal strip for over 15 months, during which the regime killed at least 48,365 Palestinians, mostly women and children.
